The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1887-04-28

that roll and cali Il from A 70 2, thsrs
would not one of you answer. say that
any society that makes me forget that fact
is bad society. When l go TO Chicago
am sometimes perplexed at Buffalo, a.
suppose many travellers are, as 10 whetheI
II Is better to take the Lake Shore route o.
the Michigan Central, equally expeditions
and equally safe, getting TO their destina.
ton at the same time. But suppose that
hear that on one route the track is torn up,
the bridges are down and the switches aDa
unlocked, it will not take me great whAa
TO decide which road to take.
Now, here are two roads in the future
the Christian and the unohristian, the ssfa
and the unsafe. Any institution or and
association that confuses my ideas in re-
gard TO that fact is bad institution and
bad association. l had prayers before
joined that society, did have them after.
wardp attended the house Of God before
connected myself with that union, do |
absent myself from religious inhuencesP
Which would you rather have in your hand
when you come 10 die-a pack of cards or
q Biblep Which would you rather have
pressed to your lips in the closing mo-
ment-the cup of Belshazzarean waSsan
or the chalice of Christian communion2
Who would you rather have for your pail
bearers-the elders of a Christian chupch
or the companions whose conversation was
full Of slang and innuendo? Who would
you rather have for your eternal compan-
ions-those men who spend their evenings
betting, gambling, swearing, carouslng,
and telling vile stories, or your little child,
that bright girl whom the Lord took? Oh,
you would not have been away SO much
nights, would you, if you had known she
was going away so soon2 Dear me, your
house has never been the same place
since. Your wife has never heightened up.
she has never got over it. She never will
get over it. How long the evenings are
with no one to put to bed, and no one to
whom to tell the beautiful Bible stories.
I What pity it is that you cannot spend
more evenings at home in trying to help
her bear that sorrow. You can never drown
that grief in the wine cup. You can never
break away from the little arms that used
to be flung around your neck when she
used to say: "Papa, do stay with me to-
night. Do stay with me tonight, You
will never be able to wipe away from your
lips the dying kiss of your little girl. The
fascination of bad secret society is so
great that sometimes o man has turned his
back on his home when his child was dying
of scarlet fever. He went away. Before
he got back at midnight the eyes had been
closed, the undertaken had done his work,
and the wife, worn out with three weeks
Watching, lay unconscious In the next
ROOM Then the returned father comes
upstairs, and he sees the cradle gone and
the windows up, and says: What Is the
matter2" On the judgment day he will
find out what was the matter2
Oh, man astray, God help you'll I am
going to make a very stout rope. You
know that sometimes a rope maker will
, take very small threads and wind them
/ together until after a while they become
ship cable. And l am going 10 take some
very small, delicate threads and wind them
together until they make very stout rope
l will take all the memories of the mar
riage day-a thread of laughter, thread OF
light, thread of music, q thread Of BAN
quoting, a thread of congratulauon, and 1
twist them together and l have one strand.
Then take thread of the hour of
the first advent in your house,
thread of the darkness that preceded, and
a thread of the light that followed; and q
thread of the beautiful scarf that little
child used to wear when she bounded out
at eventide to greet you; and then thread
of the beautiful dress in which you laid
her away for the resurrection; and then l
twist all the threads together, and have
| another strand. Then take q thread OF
the scarlet robe of suffering Christ and
! thread of white raiment of your loved
ones before the throne, and string of the
harp cherubic, and string of the heart sera-
: phic, and will twist them all together, andI
have third strand. "Oh," you say,
"either strand is enough TO hold fast a
worId!" No. will take these strands and
/ will twist them together, and one end Of
thatr ope will fasten, not to the communion
table, for it shall be removed; not to .
pillar of the organ, for that will crumblo
in the ages; but wind it round and round
the cross of sympathizing Christ, and,
having fastened one end of the rope to The
cross, throw the other end to you. Lay
hold of i'll Pull for your lifeI Pull fOt
HsaveRl